Multi-state tax · California to Washington
Before moving from California to Washington, taxes on a large stock sale depend on your move date, though Washington pay carries no state income tax.
Washington’s capital gains tax rises to 9.9% on taxable gains beyond $1 million. California can still tax what you earned there, including part of any RSUs that vest after you leave. Which state taxes a stock sale depends on where you live on the day you sell.
Updated · Sources
After the move, 2026
- 0%
- is Washington’s income tax on wages in 2026. California’s top rate is 13.3%.
- 7%
- is Washington’s tax on long-term gains past its standard deduction, which was $278,000 for 2025.
- $4,968
- is how much more a single filer on $100,000 of wages keeps each year in Washington than in California.
California has not published its 2026 brackets, so the $4,968 uses its 2025 ones.
When does your move count for tax in both states?
California taxes all your income until your move date. Washington’s capital gains tax reaches only stock you sell after it.
Your stay in Washington is open-ended
A short work posting you plan to return from keeps you a California resident, so the move has to be open-ended.
Washington has become your permanent home
Washington defines domicile as a permanent place to live, plus the intent to make it your home. Your California domicile ends once you have settled in Washington and given up any intent to return. Both states agree you can have only one domicile at a time.
Your home, family and work are in Washington
Both states weigh much the same evidence, including where your home, family, work and bank accounts are. Each state decides on all the facts of your case.
You hold a Washington driver’s license
Washington gives new residents 30 days to get a Washington driver’s license. A license helps your case only alongside a home, family and work in Washington.
Keep the papers that date your move, such as a lease or closing statement. Note your last workday in California too. In a residency audit, California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) reconstructs where you were from credit card, bank and airline records.
Selling stock with a $1.5 million gain after the move saves $77,600 of state tax.
Sold as a California resident
$169,578
California taxes the whole gain at its regular rates, up to 13.3%. Washington takes nothing, since you were not domiciled there on the sale date.
Sold after the move
$91,978
Washington taxes the $1,222,000 left after its deduction. California takes nothing, because a nonresident’s gain on investment stock is not California income.
QSBS sold after the move
$0
If Section 1202 excludes the whole gain from federal tax, Washington does not tax it either. Had you sold the same shares before the move, California would tax the whole gain, because it does not follow Section 1202.
California’s figure uses its 2025 schedule for single filers, on $1,494,294 of taxable income after the $5,706 standard deduction. That is $72,219.84 on the first $742,953, 12.3% on the rest, and the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax on income above $1 million. Washington’s figure is 7% of the first $1 million left after its $278,000 deduction, and 9.9% of the other $222,000. The rows show state tax only. They leave out California’s $153 personal exemption credit, which phases out completely at this income. In your move year, a gain after the move still raises the rate California applies to your pre-move income.
What does each state tax once you live in Washington?
After your residency ends, California taxes only income from California sources. For your move year, one Form 540NR reports all your income before the move and only California-source income after it. These are the 2026 rules. Washington’s planned 2028 tax on income over $1 million would change the Washington column.
| California | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay for work done in Washington | None Even from a California employer | None WA Cares long-term care and paid-leave premiums apply |
| Wages for days you work in California | All of it Including a bonus for that work paid after the move | None |
| RSUs and NSOs from your California job | The California workday share Counted from grant to vest for RSUs, and from grant to exercise for NSOs | None |
| Long-term stock gains | None | 7% above the deduction 9.9% on taxable gains over $1M |
| Short-term stock gains | None | None Only assets held more than a year are taxed |
| Gain on California real estate | Taxed Wherever you live when you sell | None Real estate of any kind is exempt |
Unlike Texas or Florida, Washington taxes long-term capital gains. The Washington Supreme Court upheld that tax in 2023 as an excise tax on sales, rather than an income tax.
Where can a move to Washington still cost you tax?
A family that moves in stages
If your family stays in your California home for a school year, California may still treat you as a resident. Under the FTB’s guidelines, a marital home in California is a significant factor toward California domicile. Washington presumes that spouses share one domicile.
A sale both states can claim
Sell in the weeks around your move, and both states may say you lived there that day. Washington then allows a credit for the California tax on that gain, up to its own tax on it. To claim the credit, you must pay the California tax before you file the Washington return.
Washington’s tax comes due in one payment
Washington asks for no quarterly payments, so the whole tax is due by the federal due date, normally April 15. A filing extension does not extend the time to pay. You can prepay 2026 tax on the Department of Revenue’s My DOR site from October 15, 2026.
A 2028 tax on income over $1 million
From January 1, 2028, a 9.9% Washington tax is set to apply to income over $1 million, as the state defines it. Wages, RSU vests and short-term gains count, and spouses share one $1 million deduction. Initiative 26-645, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would repeal it.
An estate tax that starts at $3 million
For deaths from July 1, 2026, Washington taxes estates above a $3,000,000 exclusion, at rates from 10% to 20%. The federal exemption is $15 million for 2026, so an estate can owe Washington tax and no federal tax.
Plan a large stock sale around your move date with a CPA.
Valim’s CPAs plan stock sales and RSU income for people moving from California to Washington, before the move and after it.
- We file Form 540NR for your move year, and for each later year your California RSUs vest.
- We work out what each state would take on a large sale, before and after your move.
- We file Washington’s capital gains return when you owe it, with a credit for any California tax on that gain.
- We plan estimated payments on RSUs still taxed by California.
- When the FTB or Washington’s Department of Revenue writes about a return we prepared, we answer it within your fee.
- Individual return
- from $195
- Business return
- from $495
We quote a flat fee before work starts. We do not bill hourly.
California to Washington tax questions.
Will I be taxed if I move out of California?
No, California does not tax the act of leaving. Until your residency ends, it taxes all your income, and afterward only income from California sources. That still includes pay and equity earned there, and gains on California real estate. A gain after the move still raises the rate on your move-year 540NR, and Washington may tax the sale instead.
How much is $100,000 income taxed in Washington?
A single filer with $100,000 of wages pays about $22,207 in taxes and premiums in Washington in 2026, and keeps $77,793. Federal income tax is $13,170 after the $16,100 standard deduction. Social Security and Medicare take $7,650. Washington charges no income tax. Its WA Cares long-term care premium takes $580, and your share of the paid-leave premium is about $807.
Who has higher taxes, CA or WA?
California has higher income taxes. It taxes wages and all capital gains at rates up to 13.3%. Washington taxes no wages and no short-term gains. Its capital gains tax charges 7% on long-term gains above a deduction, and 9.9% once taxable gains pass $1 million. A separate 9.9% Washington tax on income over $1 million is set to start in 2028. Voters decide on November 3, 2026 whether to repeal it.
Is it cheaper to live in California or Washington state?
On state income and payroll taxes, Washington costs less for most workers. A single filer paid $100,000 keeps about $4,968 more a year in Washington. California would take $5,055 in income tax, using its 2025 rates, and $1,300 for State Disability Insurance. Washington’s WA Cares and paid-leave premiums come to about $1,387. Unlike Florida or Texas, Washington also taxes long-term capital gains.
Which state taxes my RSUs if they vest after I move to Washington?
California taxes the part tied to your California workdays, and Washington taxes none of the vest in 2026. The California share is the vest’s value times your California workdays from grant to vest, divided by all your workdays in that period. A remote day in Washington is not a California workday, even for a California employer. You report California’s share on Form 540NR for the year the RSU income is taxed, usually the year the shares vest. The same rule applies after a move to Texas.
Should I sell stock before or after I move to Washington?
For shares you hold as an investment, selling after the move usually costs less state tax. California taxes a resident’s gains at up to 13.3%, and does not tax a nonresident’s gain on investment stock. Washington’s tax reaches only long-term gains above its deduction. The move must come first. Your Washington domicile has to be in place before the sale, and you need records that show it.
Sources
- Chapter 82.87 RCW, Capital gains tax
- WAC 458-20-301, Capital gains excise tax: definitions, deductions, exemptions, and allocation of gains and losses
- Washington Department of Revenue, Do you owe capital gains tax? (deduction amounts by year)
- Washington Department of Revenue, Frequently asked questions about Washington’s capital gains tax
- Washington Department of Revenue, Prepayment of capital gains tax (special notice)
- Washington Supreme Court, Quinn v. State, No. 100769-8 (March 24, 2023)
- Washington ESSB 6346, Chapter 238, Laws of 2026 (individual income over $1 million)
- Washington House Office of Program Research, Summary of Initiative 26-645 (August 21, 2026)
- Chapter 83.100 RCW, Estate tax
- RCW 46.20.021, Driver’s license required for new residents
- WA Cares Fund, How the Fund Works
- Washington Employment Security Department, Paid Family & Medical Leave premium rate increases to 1.13% in 2026
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 18, § 17014, Who are residents and nonresidents
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17952, Intangible income of nonresidents
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 18152, Section 1202 does not apply
- California FTB, Publication 1031 (2025), Guidelines for Determining Resident Status
- California FTB, Publication 1100 (2025), Taxation of Nonresidents and Individuals Who Change Residency
- California FTB, Residency and Sourcing Technical Manual (Rev. 01/2026)
- California FTB, 2025 Form 540NR Tax Booklet
- California EDD, Contribution rates, withholding schedules, and meals and lodging values
- California Secretary of State, Proposition 40, text of proposed laws (2026)
- California Legislative Analyst’s Office, Proposition 40 (2026)
- Qualified small business stock (IRC Section 1202)
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments)
Reviewed and updated September 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.